My father belonged to a commune, and the food was ghastly. My idea of food

hell is the salad cream they'd pour all over bits of lettuce, cucumber and tomato. It was just disgusting.
Marianne Faithfull

Writing is such a solitary thing, so it's nice, when I'm discouraged, to see people still have such faith in fiction.
Robert Boswell

Even though what I do does enter the market, it doesn't interest me. I am exclusively concerned with the formal qualities of my work. It is about the need and the right to self-expression.
Louise Bourgeois

I opted for a freelance writing career. I was lucky enough to have the means to do it.
Matt Ridley

I'd worked at the World Bank briefly as an undergrad and studied poverty levels around the world - particularly those earning less than $1.25 a day.
Leila Janah

As for doing more dramatic work over comedy, I do whatever turns me on at the moment.
Sandra Bullock

The danger with playing a part that defines you is that it swallows up everything else.
Tom Hollander

Love who you are, embrace who you are. Love yourself. When you love yourself, people can kind of pick up on that: they can see confidence, they can see self-esteem, and naturally, people gravitate towards you.
Lilly Singh

My first year and a half in Hollywood, I did three films. Then in 1959, I was in 'Gidget,' 'Imitation of Life' and 'A Summer Place.' After that, I was a star. It was fun.
Sandra Dee

When I first started making comics, I was living with a bunch of guys, old college friends. We had this deal. At the end of each day, they would ask me how far I'd gotten on my comic. And if I hadn't made my goals, they were supposed to make me feel really bad about myself. They happily obliged.
Gene Luen Yang

There are days when my heart is troubled, and just being in the Lord's presence and thinking about His love for me fills my heart with inexplicable peace and joy.
Joseph Prince

Gemeoss

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

I can't say for sure where I was headed the first time my mom put

a blue blazer on me. Church, probably. West Side Presbyterian in Ridgewood, New Jersey, specifically, where my blazer was paired with a clip-on tie and a pair of khakis for a Sunday morning with my fellow congregants. Willie Geist I studied at UC Santa Cruz before going on to do a grad program at UCLA. Santa Cruz was like an awesome hippie summer camp. I got to take a vacation from reality and hang out on beaches and in forests. Aaron Koblin I always sold other peoples' fashions, so I wore jeans and t-shirts, and I put on what they needed to sell, and I'd sell it. So as far a nurturing my own style, it took me quite a long time to do it. Brooke Shields I have a pretty diverse audience, and that makes me happy - laughter is universal, and I don't differentiate between people at all. Why should I? People are people. There's no reason why one person can't relate to any other person on this planet in some way or another. Tracy Morgan I'm sure that blonde...

At least in cities where the Confederate Army established a base of operations, young women

were overwhelmed by the number of prospective suitors. Thousands of men flocked to the Confederate capital of Richmond, prepared to work in one of the government departments or to train for duty in the Army. Karen Abbott Learning something new is a fabulous way to be refreshed. When work can grind you down, something about learning a new activity thrills the soul. It reminds you that the world is bigger than your desk and your to-do list. John Ortberg A five minute call replaces the time it takes to read and reply to the original email and read and reply to their reply... or replies. And I no longer spend 20+ minutes crafting the perfect email - no need to. Simon Sinek I think it's misleading to use a word like 'God' in the way Einstein did. I'm sorry that Einstein did. I think he was asking for trouble, and he certainly was misunderstood. Richard Dawkins The thread of culture that runs through the entire history of punk is also a dedication to challenging t...

I also feel that the only thing more gratifying than working with someone who you've

worked well with is working with someone new and coming up with something great. Jonathan Demme I would really like to spend more time with the family. Every time I go abroad I miss them all dreadfully. Jilly Cooper Kids go to school and college and get through, but they don't seem to really care about using their minds. School doesn't have the kind of long term positive impact that it should. Howard Gardner Now I have a very good life and I am very proud of my work. Michael Nyqvist Some writers hate to go to trials, but I love trials. Ann Rule It's not really difficult to go from one voice into the next. Hank Azaria The web continues to be a source of important photographs you see nowhere else. Bruce Jackson Culture and possessions, there is the bourgeoisie for you. Thomas Mann We're playing the Superbowl this year, we're opening up before the coins drop. Peter Criss What Jennifer Lopez puts out, it's not Latin music. Marc Anthony

In my opinion, I feel like all versions of 'Deathstroke' are valid. Just like with 'Black Panther,'

I felt like it wasn't good for a writer to say another writer's work was invalid or never happened. Christopher Priest I tried writing a novel, but plays were the thing that kept feeding me, asking me to come back, sit down and be with them. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins I hope that as a professional snowboarder, Olympian, and now, a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics, I will be able to change perceptions about people with intellectual disabilities. Hannah Teter I've always said the Olympics are special to me. Bradley Wiggins I love it when a man knows his place - right, ladies? Nancy Dubuc I don't think people watch too much TV anymore. I don't. Shenaz Treasury Unfortunately, I think we could see that fairly early in 2015: The cloud of economic weakness in Russia is spreading over Europe. It has the potential of spreading into contagion into other emerging markets, particularly those with large energy companies, such as Petrobras in Brazil. Charles Dallara I was alwa...

I don't think the entire world respects women in sport. But if FIFA start respecting

the women's game more, others will follow. Alex Morgan I have been making hip-hop since I was a kid growing up in New York in the '80s and '90s. It's always been a hobby of mine - I've been making beats and writing songs for as long or longer than I've been acting. Dash Mihok I listen to some Hank Williams before I go out. I tell some jokes. I have fun. I don't waste too much energy thinking about it - I like to save that all for the ring. Dean Ambrose I've decided that I'm completely rock n' roll. Katherine Ryan Advertising is a nebulous beast at the best of times. Antony Johnston Why should we take options off the table in advance? Gillian Turner To me, fashion is ceaselessly fascinating because it is an expression of self. Anna Wintour More than any other poet, Whitman is what we make him; more than any other poet, his greatest value is in what he suggests and implies rather than in what he portrays, and more than any othe...